Category Archives: photographs

This year for Pentecost in the foyer of the church we set up a display of doves flying in a tree with green leaves and a banner of flames in the back. Buoyant, alive, playful… I felt the arrangement reflected the spirit of the day. The shadows added another dimension to the grouping.

Banners are filling up at Place des Arts! Each person creates their own tag (ink and stick, print, or collage) and then they are added to the community banners. It’s a way to put into visual form Place des Art’s belief that we inspire the artist in everyone! The closeup is a work of art by a preschool student. the artworks created by the youngest students are so full of energy and vitality.

As a change of pace this Christmas one of my homemade gifts for someone dear to me was a toy rabbit that stands about 18″ tall (to tip of ears). Not exactly “The” Velveteen Rabbit (which would be much smaller and a different colour) but a variation on the idea.

Its been a long time since I made a toy and I really enjoyed it. Used material from a black plush zipper jacket that had seen better days. Various scraps of suede I had on hand worked well for eyes, nose, and bow. It was a joy to work on. I like the idea of recycling, re-purposing material to use for making a gift and have a few other toy ideas in mind to make for the new year.

Wishing a Happy, Creative New Year to everyone!

“Once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” – quote by the skin horse from the book “The Velveteen Rabbit” by Margery Williams, 1922

I combined a picture of a candle burning on my window sill in the wee hours of the morning with a few words from one of my Mom’s poems. Symbolizes well how I feel this year. Wishing you all much light and warmth this Christmas!

“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” – Leonard Cohen

Or out. When I feel ‘cracked’ by pressures (from in or from out) then I have nothing to lose and is often then that I become my most authentic. Consequently I feel lighter, enlightened, and can more easily share my light with others.

My acrylic class for adults at Place des Arts in Coquitlam is fast approaching. In preparation I am gathering together the materials and one of them is a colour wheel using the paints they will be working with.

This unusual use of a snowflake came about after Christmas last year. As I walked by the snowflakes on sale, I had a eureka moment when I realized they were perfect for teaching colour theory on. I took a few home and primed them white with gesso and then added colour.

I like how primary, secondary, and tertiary are present in this formation. Trust an artist to see a snowflake in multi-colour!

It’s almost winter and for once my Christmas cactus is blooming like never before! There’s a back story to my flourishing plant: In late spring, after five years of next to no flowers (once in awhile a few in July) and getting spindlier and sadder, I finally gave up on it. I put it outside in the garden, in its pot, to fend for itself. But without me really noticing it began to come back and by early November it was full of buds so I brought it back inside. Though, afraid to give it too much attention, I put it in the art room in the basement where it’s cooler and with a big window. It loves it there and is full of life and blossoms! Also does my heart good every time I see it when I go down to the studio to create.